High school football: Hudson dominates Mayfield

Mayfield had to lay it all on the line Friday night against visiting Hudson, with the Wildcats rated No. 14 in Division I, Region I and sitting one game out of first place in the NOC River Division.

Suffice to say, the results weren't what Mayfield or its fans hoped for.

Hudson accumulated 382 yards of offense and held Mayfield to 262 yards, just 82 in the first half, on its way to a 35-13 victory at Mayfield Municipal Stadium.

Advertisement

Containing the Explorers proved to be difficult, as they racked up 19 plays of 10 or more yards, 20 first downs, 143 yards through the air and 239 yards on the ground.

The Hudson defense was equally adept at frustrating prolific Mayfield quarterback Drazen Markovic, pressuring him throughout. Markovic finished 12 of 27 passing for 178 yards with two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. The Explorers made sure Markovic wouldn't beat them running the ball, holding him to 8 yards on 10 carries. Mayfield had just 84 yards rushing overall.

"They did a great job. Their coaches had them well-prepared," said Mayfield coach Larry Pinto. "They kicked our butts tonight. They did a great job containing Drazen on defense. They had a great game plan, and unfortunately we weren't able to capitalize on some things we had, but a lot of the credit goes to them. They forced us into making some poor decisions."

Hudson took control from the start, taking the opening drive 63 yards in 10 plays and scoring on a 3-yard run by Michigan-bound senior Ben Gedeon. Sophomore QB Mitchell Guardagni led the Explorers to their second score early in the second quarter, connecting with senior WR Tim Kennedy for an 11-yard TD pass on third-and-goal. Kennedy was a thorn in the side of the Mayfield defense all evening, with five receptions for 66 yards. Guardagni caused even more problems for the Wildcats, passing for 120 yards and rushing for 111.

Mayfield was held without a first down in the first quarter, but began to move the chains in the second after switching to a no-huddle offense. The Wildcats finally broke through when Markovic connected with Mitch Longo, who made a nice catch with a defender draped over him, for a 20-yard touchdown.

Hudson answered, going 57 yards in 11 plays. The Explorers eschewed what would have been a 41-yard field goal try, as Guardagni instead connected with Kennedy for a first down at the Wildcats' 3. Two plays later, Mayfield's Jonathan Mangeluzzi got his hand on a pass in the end zone, but had the misfortune of tipping it right to Hudson's Antonio Leighton for the score.

A nine-play, 62-yard drive went for a touchdown for Hudson (7-1, 3-0) in the third quarter, and the Explorers finished their scoring with a pick-six in the fourth. Gedeon finished with 103 yards on 12 carries.

Mayfield opened the third quarter with a 50-yard completion from Markovic to Mangeluzzi to the Hudson 30, and followed up with a 20-yard end around by Chris Reimer to the 10. But the Wildcats were unable to capitalize and turned the ball over on downs. A 5-yard TD run by Anthony Cangenelli with 4:59 to play in the game was the other score for the Wildcats.

"We did a good job taking him (Markovic) out of his rhythm." said Hudson coach Ron Wright. "He's a rhythm kind of guy. The guys up front executed the game plan. On offense, we're trying to be as close to 50-50 as we can, and we're taking what they give us. We're very socialistic at Hudson, and we believe in getting everybody their due share of work (on offense)."

Reimer, a senior, caught six passes for 81 yards for Mayfield (4-4, 1-2), and picked up 27 yards on two carries. Cangenelli gained 37 yards on eight carries, and senior linebacker C.J. Taddeo was in on numerous stops on defense.

The Wildcats will look to rebound on the road next week, as they will travel to Cuyahoga Falls.